(P/B) THE CONDUCT OF INQUIRY

Παρουσίαση

In arguably the finest text ever written in the philosophy of social science, Abraham Kaplan emphasizes what unites the behavioral sciences more than what distinguishes them from one another. Kaplan avoids the bitter disputes among people doing methodology, claiming instead that what is important are those qualities intrinsic to the overall aspirations of the social sciences. He deals with special problems of various disciplines only so far as may be helpful in clarifying the general method of inquiry.
The Conduct of Inquiry is a systematic, rounded, and wide-ranging inquiry into behavioral science. Kaplan is guided by the experience of sciences with longer histories, but he is bound neither to their problems nor to their solutions. Instead, he addresses the methodology of behavioral science in the broad sense of both method and science. The work is not a formal exercise in the philosophy of science but rather a critical and constructive assessment of the developing standards and strategies of contemporary social inquiry. He emphasizes the tasks, achievements, limitations, and dilemmas of the newer disciplines.
Philosophers of science usually choose to write about the most fully developed sciences because problems are clearer there. The result is ordinarily of little benefit to the behavioral scientist, whose task is clarification of method; here the precedents and analogies of physical science are obscure or inappropriate. The Conduct of Inquiry goes a long way in drawing upon the strengths of social research insights without simplifying the common concerns of the scientific enterprise as a whole. As Leonard Broom noted when the book initially appeared: "Kaplan fills a gap and does so with admirable clarity and often engaging wit. It lacks pomposity, pedantry, and pretension, and it is bound to make an impact on the teaching of and, with luck, research in the behavioral sciences." (From the publisher)

Περιεχόμενα

Introduction to the Transaction Edition
Preface
Introduction
I. METHODOLOGY
Logic-in-Use and Reconstructed Logic
2. Logic and Psychology
3. The Task of Methodology
4. ''Scientific Method" in Behavioral Science
II. CONCEPTS
5. The Empirical Basis
6. Functions of Concepts
7. Theoretical Terms
8. Openness of Meaning
9. Specification of Meaning
10. Concepts in Behavioral Science
III. LAWS
11. Functions of Laws
12. The Content of Laws
13. Types of Laws
14. Laws in Behavioral Science
IV. EXPERIMENT
15. The Process of Observation
16. Observation in Behavioral Science
17. Functions of Experiment
18. The Structure of Experiment
19. Experiment in Behavioral Science
V. MEASUREMENT
20. Functions of Measurement
21. The Structure of Measurement
22. Scales
23. Validity
24. Measurement in Behavioral Science
VI. STATISTICS
25. Functions of Statistics
26. Probability and Induction
27. Statistical Description
28. Statistical Hypotheses
29. Statistics in Behavioral Science
VII. MODELS
30. The Structure of Models
31. Functions of Models
32. Shortcomings of Models
33. Models in Behavioral Science
VIII. THEORIES
34. Theories and Laws
35. Functions of Theories
36. Validation of Theories
37. Theories in Behavioral Science
IX. EXPLANATION
38. The Pattern Model
39. The Deductive Model
40. Explanation and Prediction
41. Functions of Explanation
42. Explanation in Behavioral Science
X. VALUES
43. Values in Inquiry
44. Theory of Value
45. Behavioral Science and Policy
46. The Future of Behavioral Science
References
Index of Names
Index of Subjects